{"id":368,"date":"2008-11-11T18:36:04","date_gmt":"2008-11-11T23:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/368"},"modified":"2008-11-11T18:36:04","modified_gmt":"2008-11-11T23:36:04","slug":"teaching-history-with-childrens-literature-ms-frizzles-adventures-imperial-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/11\/11\/teaching-history-with-childrens-literature-ms-frizzles-adventures-imperial-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching History with Children’s Literature: Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures Imperial China"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have you ever\u00a0thought about\u00a0how much students would learn if they could go back in time to visit the countries and civilizations that they\u00a0are studying in history? The\u00a0book, Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Imperial China<\/a>, written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by\u00a0Bruce Degen,\u00a0takes readers on an adventure to ancient China during a Chinese New Year celebration over 1,000 years\u00a0ago and explains lots of information about ancient China and Chinese culture along the way.<\/p>\n

When the story begins, Ms. Frizzle and two of her students, Wanda and Arnold, are celebrating the Chinese New Year at a\u00a0local Chinatown festival.\u00a0As a\u00a0parade passes by, Wanda, Arnold, and Ms. Frizzle duck under the dancing dragon. When they peek out from under the dragon, they discover that they are no longer in Chinatown and\u00a0have traveled back in time to visit a farmers’ village in China. The villagers there are also celebrating the Chinese New Year.<\/p>\n

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We were under the dragon for a long time. When the dragon came to a stop, we peeked out. Chinatown was gone! We were in a farmers’ village in China, and it was one thousand years ago!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While in ancient China, Ms. Frizzle and her students dine with the farmers and help work in their rice fields. They learn all about growing rice and also\u00a0discover that this year’s rice crop has been very small and as a result, the farmers cannot afford to pay all their taxes. Ms. Frizzle’s\u00a0group decides to travel to the capital city to talk to the Emperor\u00a0and tell him to lower the taxes. On their way to the Emperor’s\u00a0palace, Ms. Frizzle and her students meet the Chinese poet Su Shi who teaches them\u00a0about Chinese writing, visit a\u00a0town market and learn how silk is made, and watch a battle between Chinese soldiers and an invading army at the Great Wall of China. Finally, they arrive at the capital city and find the Emperor’s palace. They then return\u00a0home by walking through an “amazing door” that takes them directly into Wanda’s living room, just in time for\u00a0her family’s\u00a0New Year’s banquet.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nMs. Frizzle’s Adventures: Imperial China <\/em>would be an excellent book to use as part of a\u00a0history lesson\u00a0on ancient China. This book provides lots of information about ancient China and Chinese culture and brings the history of\u00a0China to life in a memorable\u00a0and educational way.<\/p>\n

In addition to describing Ms. Frizzle’s journey through China, sections at the bottom of each\u00a0page\u00a0tell about many ancient Chinese inventions that are still used today, including kites, umbrellas, the compass, paper, gunpowder, and fireworks. They also show how rice is grown and how silk is made, describe the meaning of several Chinese symbols, and provide additional information about the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration.<\/p>\n

In Virginia, this book relates to\u00a0social studies\u00a0SOLs 2.1 and 2.4, which state that students will explain how the contributions of ancient China have influenced the present world in terms of\u00a0inventions and written language\u00a0and will understand the relationship between the environment and the culture of ancient China.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n